I don't honestly remember. I just know I got that feeling a couple of times, particularly in the Sunleth Waterscape scenes. There was also something about the way Serah went on about her devotion to him and how great he is that also seemed a bit disconcerting.

"Snow is a relentless optimist and a self-proclaimed "hero" who wishes to protect and help anyone in need. Although his heart may be in the right place, his naivety and optimism rub people the wrong way. He talks and acts before thinking, unintentionally causing trouble and putting others in danger. Lightning describes Snow as "arrogant and chummy from the get-go, thinks he's everyone's pal," and that his best quality is being "too stubborn to die." In Final Fantasy XIII Episode Zero -Promise-, Lightning compares Snow to her father as being easy-going and passionate but unreliable.

Snow is hot-headed and fearless, not afraid to push his limits and has little regard for authorities. Snow hides whatever guilt he feels by acting optimistic, though doing so causes people to misunderstand him. Snow is defined by his love for Serah and even after learning about her becoming a Pulse l'Cie, he chooses to stand beside her and help her complete her Focus. His relationship with Serah puts him in conflict with Lightning, who at first believes him to be an irresponsible idiot unworthy of her sister."

And in Lightning Returns:

"Though his desire to protect people remains, he has become the polar opposite of his former self: dark, jaded, brooding, and depressed. He speaks like a "broken man," and harbors the regret of not being able to save Serah, reveling more in the city's nightlife as opposed to his duties as patron, gaining him the title of "Lord of the feasthall". During an interview, it was stated that despite his darkened attitude, Snow is still a good person, caring for the people of Yusnaan, as opposed to the more villainous Don Corneo from Final Fantasy VII. He appears to be either closely linked to or heavily infected by Chaos, as when he and Lightning meet in his palace and he performs a powerful spell, a thick cloud of Chaos appears and flows around him."

It seems like a lot of the returning characters in XIII-3 are polar opposites of their former selves. Lightning is becoming Lightning-chan, Serah-chan has become a loli-goth Sentai villianess ala Rita Repulsa, Sazh went from scrappy underdog to a miserable pile of useless, Noel went from being Kingdom Heart's Sora to The 'SHADOW WARRIOR', Hope went from kid to Gerodi and now back to kid, and now Snow has gone from that one shonen protagonist that's older than the main protagonist (you know the one) to that one detective that's two days from retirement and too old for this shit and just wants to spend his few remaining days in a bottle (you know the one).

I wonder what's next? Will Fang go from being a man in a woman's body to a woman in a woman's body? Will Vanille go from being a pretty little lying anime to Aliens' Ellen Ripley? And will Chocolina go from Chocobocolina to Bocochocolina? Find out in the next episode of F, F, Thirteen!

"Earlier this week, a listing appeared on Amazon Japan for a currently untitled Lightning Returns novel. Written by Benny Matsuyama and priced at ¥980 (approximately $9.85), it will cover some of the events in the 500 years between the end of XIII-2 and Lightning's awakening from crystal sleep at the beginning of Lightning Returns. The description of the novel is incredibly brief, but promises to deliver a drama of people struggling against despair in a world eroded by Chaos. The publishing date on Amazon is 11/21/2013, the same date that the game itself releases in Japan. Since it was confirmed recently that there would be no supplemental material post-release, it seems likely the novel will be published on or before the Amazon date." -- Nova Crystallis

Douchebag, sure, but how was Snow ever abusive? While I like pretty much nothing about his character, I still don't see that. He seemed pretty sincere about their relationship...in a creepy way.

I can't believe I'm defending Snow...

Agreed, he's the very definition of douchbaggery, but I'm not seeing any abuse. Maybe some neglect, though it's fairly justifiable (if a bit extreme). But talk about lack of chemistry, and just their physical makeup is extremely unsettling. But if you think that Serah is, what 19? and Snow is, even though he's huge and physically imposing, he's probably around the same age as Lightning, who is 2 years older than Serah, it's really not that creepy. But the designers could have gone a long way toward making them more comfortable as a couple.

But it's as if the designers didn't want us to like them. So far, the actual completion of their romance seems so unlikely at this point, that who cares? Serah died (though somehow comes back), Snow has found some new life as a dictator or something-or-other. And practically everyone sees more in Serah/Noel's relationship. It's hard for me to imagine the developers wrapping this up with a happy wedding. Honestly, I'd be cheering my butt off if they decided to toss in the towel at the end of the series... how many times have we seen an engagement broken off in a videogame? I think it's an unspoken taboo, and I'd think very highly of the developers if they went against the grain.

^You got the wrong idea about the characters. In XIII the main cast isn't that complex once you get what their motivation and story is.

Snow had a strong devotion for Serah because she was the the first one in his entire life that he could be as close with someone (sentimentally speaking) after growing up as an orphan with his childhood friends (Gadot and Lebreau), and he was never douchebag, at best he could be annoying because is easy to misunderstand his actions (which really can be said for most of the characters in XIII at first).

Now in LR he feels like crap because he couldn't take care of Serah as he promised to Lightning even though he really tried. He still has his virtue of protecting those who need his help and for that he becomes the patron of Yusnaan by popular acclaim.

Hope: "Did you notice the people here call Snow 'the Patron'? He's in charge of this city, and has been for a long time."

Lightning: "The Patron? I don't see it. Sure, he liked to look after people, but lording it over an entire city?"

Hope: "Well, it wasn't his choice. He started out just trying to help everyone, and eventually he became ruler by popular acclaim. Although, I'm not so sure he actually rules anything anymore. He doesn't do much these days except preside over the nightly revelry. Lord of the feasthall."

and Snow is, even though he's huge and physically imposing, he's probably around the same age as Lightning, who is 2 years older than Serah, it's really not that creepy. But the designers could have gone a long way toward making them more comfortable as a couple.

It's hard for me to imagine the developers wrapping this up with a happy wedding. Honestly, I'd be cheering my butt off if they decided to toss in the towel at the end of the series... how many times have we seen an engagement broken off in a videogame? I think it's an unspoken taboo, and I'd think very highly of the developers if they went against the grain.

It was Toriyama I think that said a bunch of times that LR is gonna have the happiest ending ever after the last two endings being 'bad endings'.

BTW: No one's looking forward to this game more than me! New outfits look awesome! I secretly love costume stuff. I'll admit it, I help my girlfriend make outfits for her Sims. Guess that means I should turn in my man card, huh.